


Bruises

by Tallihensia



Category: Smallville
Genre: Angst, Episode Related, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-21
Updated: 2010-06-21
Packaged: 2017-10-10 05:30:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/96111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tallihensia/pseuds/Tallihensia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Jitters, Clark comes to see how Lex is doing. He finds his friend bruised in more than skin alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bruises

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Only mine in my dreams. ;-) This story was written for free entertainment purposes only and may not be reproduced for profit or altered without permission.
> 
> Spoilers: Jitters
> 
> Notes: Coda to the first season episode 'Jitters'.

# Bruises

Clark helped with the dishes in silence. They had gotten through a really bad day and made it out okay... but there were things that would never be the same. Earl had been taken away by the police, probably to be put in a sanitarium. The plant had massive damages that would cost a lot to fix. Clark was a coward in the eyes of Whitney and his fellow students. And Lionel Luthor was an ass.

Not that the last was any surprise or anything different. Clark, though, knew how much Lex loved his dad despite everything, and wanted his approval. Instead, Lex had gone against his dad's recommendations and walked in with only a vest to talk to Earl directly, trading himself for the high schoolers that Earl held hostage. Clark had never been so proud of his friend... or so scared for him.

When Earl had accidently knocked himself and Lex off the bridge and Clark had barely grabbed onto them... Super-speed and super-strength would have been worthless if Lex hadn't managed to hold on. If Lex's grip had slipped.

Clark put the last plate down and held himself still, trying not to think about it yet unable to do anything but.

"Honey?" Martha touched him gently on the shoulder.

Plastering a fake grin on, Clark turned around. "I'm almost done with the dishes, Mom."

As Martha looked up at Clark with a sad smile, Clark was reminded again as to how much his mom loved him, and how very well she could see through him.

"I baked an extra apple pie, Clark. Could you please take it over to Lex?" Martha held up one of their travelling containers.

"Um, sure." Clark blinked, surprised. His folks were still uneasy about his friendship with Lex and with Lionel Luthor over there too, Clark would have thought they would've wanted him to keep away. Too many unexplained things.

His dad appeared from around the corner in an example of perfectly human supernatural parenting instincts. He put his hand on Clark's shoulder. "Clark, son, Lex was very brave today. We heard that his dad left right after the news reporters did. That's just not right." He grimaced, "I'd go over with you, but it wouldn't be the same thing. Just go and tell young Lex that the town is proud of him."

"Okay." Clark really didn't need to be talked into it. An apple pie later, he was off to Lex's.

... ... ...

"Clark?" Lex himself opened the door at the mansion, squinting out at his friend.

Beaming in relief at the sight of his friend, Clark held up the box. "Hi, Lex. Mom sends pie."

Lex quirked a grin. "Your mom's pie is always welcome." 'And so are you' his eyes said. He stepped to one side, letting Clark in and shutting the door behind him.

"Where is Mrs. Palmer?" Clark asked curiously. Normally Lex's housekeeper opened the door.

"Amy is still a bit... shaky after today's events. Mrs. Palmer and Jeff took Amy out to the movies. I told them to take as much time as they needed."

Oh yeah. Amy had been in with the other hostages. Clark had forgotten about most of them once he'd slipped out. Well, most except for that look of distain on Whitney's face. Clark'd wanted to help Whitney take Earl out, he'd really wanted to. But... Clark sighed.

"Are you okay, Clark?" Lex's voice was careful and concerned. When Clark looked up, the blue eyes held nothing but sympathy and understanding.

Which was bullshit since Lex had been through so much worse. "I'm fine. Are **you** okay?" Clark took a step towards Lex.

Lex retreated. He took the pie from Clark's hand and headed down the hall. "Never better, Clark."

Clark followed behind, glumly watching the bruise on the back on Lex's head from where Earl had pistol-whipped him. Lex had forgotten about that, or he would have never turned his back on Clark and let him see it. It looked bad; a narrow band of the inside was already a dark plum color, slightly swollen. The outer part was red and shiny, indicating a really spectacular bruise by tomorrow. It looked really painful.

In the kitchen, Lex slipped the pie out of the box and cut it. "Smells delicious." He even leaned over the pie and closed his eyes while smelling it. Clark stared, knowing from the slightly defensive tilt of Lex's body that it was one of those things that Lex was only relaxed enough to do around Clark. Something so normal, so everyday... so forbidden and strange in a Luthor household.

"Yeah." Clark leaned over next to his friend and sniffed. "When mom is baking, dad and I head in. We're not allowed in the kitchen yet – wouldn't do us any good with it in the oven anyhow, but we head in and find chores nearby just so we can smell it."

Lex pulled back with a wistful smile on his face. "Sounds wonderful." He put a generous sized slice on a plate and handed it to Clark and then cut a much smaller piece for himself.

Clark picked up the discarded knife and cut another slice and put that one on Lex's plate also. "Mom will ask," he said as Lex glanced expressively between Clark and the plate.

"Of course," Lex quirked his grin and accepted the extra piece. "Milk?" he asked, turning to rummage in the refrigerator.

"Please," Clark responded automatically, again watching that large bruise on Lex's head. Then Clark hissed as Lex reached up into the cabinet and his sleeves fell back.

Clark was beside Lex in a moment, one hand on Lex's right arm, the other hovering by Lex's wrist where another deep bruise was showing. A full circle around the wrist, imprints in the shape of fingers showing. At the plant, on Level Three, Clark had first pulled Earl up from the catwalk where they were dangling off, and then he'd reached down and grabbed Lex. He'd grabbled Lex's wrist, Lex had grabbed Clark's. They'd held on tightly to each other while he was pulling Lex up. Clark hadn't realized just **how** tightly.

Dark against the pale. The bruise already showing up in force, with capillaries broken and slim wrist damaged. "I'm sorry," Clark whispered, his fingers hovering without touching.

"I'd rather have a bruise than be dead," Lex said wryly, not moving under Clark's grip. Something inside of Lex relaxed and he turned towards Clark, putting a hand on Clark's. "It's okay, Clark. I'm alright."

"It's not okay," Clark said, forcing the words out through the tightness in his throat. "I hurt you. Earl hurt you, and I hurt you, and you could have **died** and it's not okay."

Lex moved forward and stepped into Clark's circle of arms, putting himself in the hug without Clark even realizing he'd made the gesture. "I'm alive. You're alive. Earl's alive. It's okay."

Clark swallowed down a sob, realizing just how close he was to losing it. He'd been fine earlier, but seeing that bruise on Lex's head, the bruise on Lex's wrist... Clark held his friend closely.

Lex wasn't by any means a small man, standing taller than most folks, yet it was that height without extra weight that gave him the appearance of being slim and delicate; an appearance Clark suspected his friend cultivated. Clark, though, even at fifteen, was even taller and he had the bulk for it as well. It had been weird when Clark grew taller than his mom and where once he was the one sheltered in a hug, now he sheltered his mom. It was even weirder when he caught up to his dad in height. Lex, though, didn't feel weird – Lex just felt right.

After a while of holding and being held, Clark finally felt like he could let go. He didn't really want to... he stored up the memory of this hug while he had it – the solid feel of Lex's body against his, the warmth, Lex's head tucked over Clark's shoulder, Lex's solid and strong grip around him. Then he let go. "Sorry," he said, ducking his head and peeking up through his eyelashes.

Lex looked a little lost for a second and then he rallied back, his expression smoothing out. "That's all right. I'm the one who should be thanking you for coming by. And your mom, too, for the pie." Lex smoothly turned to get the pie plates and headed into the other room with them. "Coming?" he said over his shoulder at Clark.

Clark had only known Lex for a few months, yet he was coming to realize just how much of his friend was built around these acts of control. A few months ago, Lex would have fooled Clark completely into thinking nothing was wrong. Now though, Clark noticed that Lex had forgotten the milk. He reached into the cupboard to grab the glasses.

Walking into the family room with the two cups, Clark watched as Lex's mouth tightened just slightly upon seeing the milk. Then Lex's gaze swept up to Clark and he relaxed. He smiled with one side of his mouth, an acknowledgement of both his weakness and that it was okay because it was Clark who had seen it.

Clark gave Lex one of the glasses and sat down on the other end of the couch with the other plate of pie. They ate together in comfortable silence for awhile and then Clark remembered. "Oh yeah. Dad says to tell you that you were really brave and that the whole town is proud of you."

Lex froze with the fork and his pie half-way to his mouth. Slowly he finished that bite and then put his plate down. He swallowed. "Please thank your dad for me."

"It's the truth. Dad's proud of you, Mom's proud of you... everybody thinks you were awesome." Clark edged a bit closer on the couch, putting his own plate aside.

"Everybody." Lex laughed, one of the low uncomfortable sounds that curled Clark's nerves. It was like a sob turned into a laugh – another thing he hadn't quite realized when he first met Lex. There was a lot of pain in Lex that Lex tried to turn into other things.

"Lex?"

"My dad thought it was stupid. And it was." Lex glanced at the walls decorated with swords and shields.

"Your dad said he was proud of you!"

"That was for the tv cameras." Lex dismissed it. "He showed me what he thought by his actions."

Clark grimaced. "You mean shutting you in when he thought the place was going to blow?" Clark had to admit, that was a shitty thing for anybody to do, let alone a dad to his kid.

Unexpectedly, Lex shook his head. "No. No, that was perfectly reasonable."

"Like hell!" Clark immediately regretted his outburst... no, no he didn't regret it, not really.

Lex quirked a little grin at Clark. "It's true. I saw the data. With that pipe busted and no way to fix it, the resulting explosion would have not just taken out our little group in that room, but also the surrounding walls, the hallway, the front lobby... everybody standing around outside waiting for us could have been taken out. With something like that, it was smarter to close the doors. Limit the range of the explosion. I don't doubt that it was a hard decision, but my dad has always excelled at the hard choices in life." Lex leaned back and closed his eyes. "It was a miracle, the pipe fixing itself like it did."

Clark blushed beet red. He was glad Lex had closed his eyes and couldn't see because one glance at Clark and Lex would know something was up.

The silence that hovered after that was anything but comfortable.

Clark finally broke it. "I don't agree. It might have been practical, but practical isn't everything. He shut the doors on his child and the children of everybody else out there. Even if the place **had** blown, killing us, shutting the doors wasn't the right thing to do."

"You'd rather your parents had been killed also?" Lex opened his eyes and regarded Clark steadily.

Clark winced. "They didn't want the doors shut. None of those parents there did."

Lex lifted one shoulder and dropped it. "Lionel Luthor doesn't care about what the people want, he cares about the future. And the best future for LuthorCorp was shutting those doors."

Clark opened his mouth to disagree again, then shut it. He wasn't going to win this one. But then again... "You agree with me! You're the one who walked in with us, you're arguing what your dad thought, but you don't agree!"

"Caught." Lex grinned lazily at Clark. "Just don't tell my dad. He already thinks you're corrupting me too much." His face fell again, retreating into darker thoughts.

Clark rather liked the idea of him 'corrupting' Lex. Lex already was nothing like his dad in temperament or inclination, despite all Lex's protests to the contrary. The more he could encourage that part of Lex, the better for Lex. Then he frowned, remembering what started them on this. "So if that wasn't the thing you were thinking of earlier... what was it?"

Lex sighed and got up and went to the drink bar. "Want anything?"

"No." Clark thought that sometimes Lex forgot Clark was underage. Either that or he just didn't care. Lex had done plenty of drinking back when he was Clark's age... that and drugs too, from what Lex had let slip here and there. So offering Clark a drink was probably nothing weird to Lex, just to Clark. He sighed.

In the middle of mixing his drink, Lex paused at the sound of the sigh and looked back at Clark with a raised eyebrow. Then he flushed. "Sorry, I forgot."

"It's okay," Clark grinned. Lex really did try hard to be a good person. Even raised in such weird conditions as rich kids were, Lex tried.

Coming back with his drink, Lex sat down on the couch again. "Thank your mom for the pie for me," he said again.

"I will," Clark promised, patient for the rest. Lex sometimes had to ease himself into these things. Often, if he wanted to tell Clark something, it started off with a history tale or something about one of the paintings or sculptures before he got to it. Clark had been disconcerted originally, fascinated by the way Lex wove one into the other, but he'd gotten used to it.

"When I walked into the plant," Lex said softly into his glass, "I stopped to ask my dad one last question."

Apparently there wouldn't be any easing into it today. Clark was glad he was here... something was bugging Lex big time.

"We were away from the cameras, from recordings, from anybody who might overhear." Lex's grip on the glass tightened, his hand shaking, he was holding it so tight. "I asked him if Level Three existed. He looked me in the eyes and denied it."

Lex turned and threw his glass against the wall, yelling. "He **denied** it! He fucking let me walk in there to talk to somebody who had been harmed by our company and didn't even give me the right information to deal with it!"

Silence fell as quickly as violence had erupted. Lex stared for a moment at the wall and then dropped his head into his hands. "He lied to me." The words were muffled and faint.

Clark felt his heart clenching. Not all bruises were on the outside. This one was close to Lex's heart... and it wasn't just his father.

"Maybe..." Clark hesitated very carefully but couldn't leave his friend hurting. "Maybe he thought you were safer not knowing?"

Lex's laugh was also muffled. "And look how well that turned out. If you hadn't been there, Earl would have killed me for lying. Which would have been one thing if I had known and chose not to tell. But dying for telling the truth which was a lie, ah, now that would have hurt."

The first thing that Lionel had done, Clark could argue against, because it was wrong, even though it was practical. This, though... Clark wanted to say Lionel was wrong, he wanted to so badly... "He shouldn't have lied to you. You trusted him, and he lied to you. But..."

Clark couldn't go any further. Lionel Luthor was covering up something his company had done that was secret and wrong. It had been cleared out and was gone and the elevators blocked over. Lionel had probably figured Lex would never find out, Earl would look and not see, and they'd all just think Earl was crazy, no harm done.

But Clark had been there to uncover the lies, pull open the hidden elevator and reveal the missing Level Three. Proving that Earl wasn't crazy, and shattering Lex's confidence in his father. Putting that bruise on Lex's heart as much as the father that had lied to him.

Clark wanted to say something, anything to justify the lie. Because Lionel's lie was tied up within Clark's lies, and if he couldn't justify Lionel's lying to Lex, then how could Clark justify his own? Even though he wanted to, Clark couldn't figure out anything to say, because Lionel had been wrong. With a shudder that raked his whole body, Clark thought about what that also said about him.

Lex's despairing laughter had finally faded and he raised his head. "Clark, you've been here for awhile now... shouldn't you be getting back before it's too late?"

That was Lex-speak for "please leave so I can lose it in private." Clark found himself standing up like a good guest that had overstayed their welcome. If he left, though, Lex would just... well, he might get drunk, he might throw more glasses against the wall and destroy some other things. He probably wouldn't do what he should do, though, and just have a good cry. It wasn't very manly or Luthor-y, but Clark knew that sometimes that was the only way to get rid of the hurt. Clark also didn't want to leave Lex alone right now.

Instead of leaving, Clark walked to Lex's end of the couch and sank down on the floor in front of Lex. He stared at Lex's legs and put a hand on Lex's ankle, fingers curling loosely around the sock.

"Clark?" Lex had frozen the moment that Clark had sat down, twitching at the hand on his ankle.

"Lex... I know the lies hurt." More lies than just his father's. "And I'm sorry for that, I really am." Clark tried to say something else, but he couldn't get any other words out.

"Hey." Lex leaned over and touched Clark's cheek.

Clark realized he was crying.

"Clark, it's okay."

No, it wasn't. It wouldn't be, and the bruises **hurt**. "Lex, it's okay to cry."

Lex's mouth quivered, before he firmed it. "Luthors don't cry."

"Then I'll cry for you." Clark grabbed Lex's hand and kept it pressed to his cheek. "Because it hurts."

Lex took a deep shuddering breath in, holding it for the longest time. Then he let it out and bent over Clark so that his bowed head was touching Clark's.

Clark didn't think Lex was actually crying, but that was okay because Lex stayed and shared Clark's tears.

 

* * *

End  


* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my beta Sue Dreams. ^^
> 
> For the h/c bingo card square: Bruises. (Yes, there are happier fics coming too.)
> 
> Cross-posted at [my livejournal](http://community.livejournal.com/alatrific/15359.html).


End file.
